“I don’t want to be talking about late-term abortions, or gun control, or Gitmo,” Rawlings said, according to the Morning News. He called such talks “a misuse of City Council time.”

Dallas council member Scott Griggs, who put the resolution on the council agenda, disagrees. He says the time is right for such a gesture.

“It’s timely, and it’s relevant,” Griggs told the Morning News. “The LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community is ... a big part of Dallas.”

The measure is expected to pass, according to the Dallas Observer, which noted that the "City Council wastes tons of time talking about stuff that's unimportant or over which they have no control," therefore, "[s]pending 10 minutes talking about marriage equality won't cause municipal government to grind to a halt. To put it another way, why not?"

This is not the first time Rawlings has stopped short of attaching his name to same-sex marriage-supporting measures.

"There is a difference between talking the talk and walking the walk," ThinkPrgoress's Zack Ford writes. "Rawlings may say he supports marriage equality, but he seems quine [sic] keen on avoiding opportunities to prove it through his leadership."